Truth Beneath the Rose
by Aaronna
Summary: A series of one-shot song fics. Written around the lyrics of Within Temptation songs Disclaimer: I do not own the songs or Merlin.
1. Truth Beneath the Rose

AN: Hello! Sorry for not updating or posting sooner. Life has been hectic.  
I had been planning to write this for almost a year now, so I hope you guys enjoy it. There was Song Lyrics in here, but I had to remove them. So listen to the song is Truth Beneath the Rose by Within Temptation to understand the broken up Merlin portions.

`~;~`

Merlin gives up on Arthur after the execution of a young girl for using magic to keep a man from taking advantage of her.

Merlin had always stood at Arthur's side, but this was the last straw.

Destiny had kept him here too long, Arthur was not the salvation of magic. Merlin could no longer defend him.

Merlin had killed his own kind for Arthur, only to be hated by everyone.

Heaven, destiney, Kilgharrah, they all caused him nothing but pain.

They had convinced him to stay and protect Arthur and Camelot, but at what cost?

Merlin knew he had done some unforgivable things, but Merlin still wished for mercy.

Merlin could no longer tell the difference between the world of magic from that without and strength was in short supply.

Merlin felt nothing as he confronted Arthur and revealed everything.

Merlin felt only relief as Arthur plunged Excalibur into his chest. The prince's eyes showed pity and sadness. Arthur forgave him and ended his pain. The truth set his heavy soul free.

`~;~`

Arthur buried his friend in the forest. Everyone came with him. Gaius was heartbroken, but happy that Merlin was finally free. Gwen cried in her brother's arms. Percival was barely keeping himself together while he held a distraught Gwaine. Leon stood in the back with tears

pouring down his face.

Arthur visited Merlin's grave often. He would sit there and tell Merlin the things George had done that was driving him mad. He would discuss what the council had tried to pull this time.

Sometimes he just cried.

Arthur had lifted the ban on the anniversary of Merlin's death. The kingdom was at peace and Albion united, but Arthur mourned. For it had taken time, but the truth lay beneath the rose on the grave. All magic had died with Merlin, but now it was back. Emrys was returning.

`~;~`

AN: This is the end of this one-shot. There is no continuation or second part. Just so you guys know. But there will be other songs.


	2. Bittersweet

AN: Listen to Bittersweet by Within Temptation for this one!

`~;~`

It had taken centuries for Merlin to finally come to terms with Arthur's death. He always wondered if he had told Arthur earlier, than maybe things would have ended better. Maybe Arthur would have accepted him and freed magic.

Merlin could have stopped Mordred years ago, but he had not been able to bring himself to do it. But his hesitance to be nice or just end the druid had led to the boy turning to Morgana. Merlin had blamed himself for over a millennia.

The Once and Future King was dead and the blame fell on Morgana and Mordred. But Merlin knew better. He had been the reason the two of them had turned to the darkness. Merlin knew it was his fault that half of his soul was gone.

It was only the promise of Arthur's return that kept Merlin going after his friends in Camelot grew old and died. Merlin kept Arthur's memory alive and he waited. He would wait forever if he needed to. Because Arthur was worth the wait.


	3. Frozen

AN: Within Temptations' Frozen was just too perfect for me not to write one for this. Please listen to the song.

`~;~`

Merlin knew what happened to anyone who was touched by the Dorocha when he sacrificed himself to protect Arthur. He would be frozen, but the Prince would be safe. Arthur wouldn't understand, but that didn't matter as long as he was safe.

The moment the spirit touched him, he lost all use oh his body. All of his senses slowly seemed to slide out of his grasp. Soon, all he knew was the cold. Merlin just hoped that this wasn't death. Merlin had always thought of death as the final rest, and this was anything but.

As his hearing faded, Merlin could hear Arthur's panicked pleas. Merlin knew Arthur would hate him if he died now, but Merlin didn't want forgiveness. He just wanted him to be safe. As he lost consciousness, the warlock just hoped his sacrifice hadn't been in vain. Only time will tell.


	4. Angels

AN: Within Temptation's Angels is needed for this one.

`~;~`

She could hardly believe it! Merlin, that sweet innocent man just poisoned her!

She should have wondered why he kept insisting that drink that damned water! At least he had the decency to cry.

Just when I thought he was going to be the end of me, she arrived. My golden angel replaced the black one and I knew no more.

`~;~`

He still blamed himself for what he did to her all of those years ago and so does she. He would never forget the smile she wore as placed the Fomorroh's head in the back of his neck and the gleam in her eyes as it ripped his will from his control.

`~;~`

Mordred hate Emrys with all his being the moment Kara's life was cut short on that gallow. He had promised a new and better future under Arthur, but that promise was broken the moment that very king killed the woman he loved. Every word out of Merlin's mouth was a lie! And Mordred was going to see that he paid for those falsehoods.

Morgana took Mordred's pain and twisted it into the hate of not just Emrys, but all of Camelot. The boy was so full of despise that he didn't question her orders to kill innocent people in their way.

`~;~`

Gwaine couldn't understand. Why would Eira do this to him? Why had she been betraying him and the kingdom?

She only spent a short time pleading her innocence and even then, only to Gwaine. She had help in the deaths of every man that fell at Camlann. Gwen felt no mercy as she sentenced the woman to death.

As he watched her body swing at the end of the rope, all he could remember was the smile she had used to get him to tell her everything she needed for Morgana.

He had given her his heart and she destroyed it. He had told her what he wanted in life and she had said she wanted the same. But that was clearly a lie. She was all he ever wanted, but that version of her was never even real.

They could have been together forever, but she betrayed him and was killed for it.

`~;~`

As Merlin watched Arthur slowly fade, he wondered if by revealing his magic earlier, if he had chosen a different path, he could have avoided the slow death of the other side of his coin. As it was, he had failed his destiny, his friend, his brother.

`~;~`

Arthur's heart fell when Merlin smiled slightly and his eyes changed to gold. It felt as if he was being ripped apart. Not Merlin too! Not Merlin!

Merlin had weaseled his way into his heart and had been lying all these years. All those times he talked about bringing peace, uniting Albion, being the greatest king the world has ever known. They felt like promises, but they were just more of his lies.

`~;~`

Arthur's reign could have been remembered forever, but history is twisted with time and no one but Merlin remembers the true way the Once and Future King met his end.


	5. Blue Eyes

AN: Blue Eyes is the title of the song for this one.

`~;~`

Nimueh had been so innocent when she met Uther and Ygraine. She had been one of those bright eyed people who only saw the good in the world. But then it all went wrong.

She tried to channel a different person's life force into the unborn prince, but the gods overruled her and took the Queen's life for the babe. That was the day Uther locked her up in the dungeon, bound in chains that held her magic back.

For months Uther kept her down there. No food, no water, only her internal magic keeping her alive. After all of that time in the dark, she couldn't bare it. Her mind snapped.

She became nearly rabid in her insanity. She no longer cried. They were meaningless. Now she felt only hatred. Try as she might, she could not escape without help. Uther only came to see her once, and that was when he saw the monster he had created by imprisoning her. The longer she was chained up, more her magic seemed to swell. Her only thought, to make Uther pay for what he did.

Balinor was the one who got her out of the city. But during the escape, she saw what Uther had done to any magic user he found. The man thought he had the power to outlaw the use of magic. Her world was shattered and everyone, other than Balinor and the traitor Gaius, who practiced the art had been killed.

Twenty years it continued. Almost everyone was too afraid to stand up to Uther, the rest were not strong enough to match his knights. Nimueh couldn't return to Camelot, it would do no good. She needed a plan. She needed someone to break Uther's focus so she could do what she needed. She was tired of waiting.

Hatred burned inside of her as she watched a sorcerer protect the cursed city and the royals who ruled it. Why would he do that after seeing what Uther had done? It made no sense.

She hated that boy. He was worse than Gaius. He not only turned his back on his own kind, he was fighting his kin. It didn't take long for her to cause the boy to fear her. She wanted him to suffer.

She watched in her pool as the boy watched a witch burned. She saw him stare unflinching as the woman attempted to use her magic to escape the flames before her eyes seemed to dull. She screamed her last as the flames consumed her. The boy stayed until all that was left was pale ash.

She had known that the boy was powerful, but he was untrained. She thought her last fireball had ended him, but now she was the burning, from the inside out. She couldn't understand him. It didn't make sense.

He did this to her for threatening his family, yet he watched as kin was slaughtered? The boy had never actually killed anyone one with his magic before, she was sure of that. He would be filled with self hatred and fear his own growing power. It would always hurt him to know that that he had beast inside waiting to kill.

She could die knowing he would suffer. She had no more tears to cry, she just let go. Uther would fall and magic would be restored. Her job was done.

`~;~`

AN: Whoa… That one turned out much longer than I had expected. I like it!


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